Pressing-iron



S. G. BUSKAHD.

PRESSING IRON. APPLICATION FILED Aualls. 1919.

Patented July 12, 1921 In ventor.

ff JQWJ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE."

N EW YORK.

ASSIGNOB 'ro ran a coaromrron or PRESSING-IRON.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 12, 1921.

Application filed August 19 1919. Serial No. 318,525.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL G. BUSKARD a subject of the King of Great Britain, and resident of the city of Hamilton, county "of Wentworth, Province of Ontario, in the Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pressing- Irons, described in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, that form part of the same.

The rincipal ob ects of this invention are, to fabrics by distributing steam to the face of the iron as it is being used and to generate the steam within the iron as required.

A further object is to devise an electrically heated iron which will utilize the heat produced to best advantage in its distribu- 'tion through the ironing surface.

A further and important object is to simplify the construction thereby producing an iron which may be manufactured at very low cost, and to provide an iron which will greatly reduce the danger of burning the fabrics.

A still further object is to devise a construction in which a low heat may be maintained when the iron is not in constant use .rent supply.

ment of the surface steam but which will produce ahigli heat when required.

The principal features of the invention consist in the novel construction and arrangement of parts, whereby an electric heating element is secured between and in contact with the base of the iron and a steam generating chamber, and whereby steam is fed to the face of the iron and to a steam chamber arranged between the heating ele ment and the ironing face and whereby the electric heating element is divided into two sections and .a switch is arranged to connect either of said sections with the electric cur- In the drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal mid-sectional view through my improved iron.

Fig. .2 is a" top plan view of the iron with the handle removed showing the arrangedistributing channels in dotted lines.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view through a portion of the iron and through the water control valve.

Fig.4 is a cross sectional view of Fig. 1.

The base 1 of the iron is preferably cast acilitate the work of pressing textile with a flat recess 2 extending ractically from end to end and side to side t ereof and below this recess is nels 3-which unite at the point end of the ironand are connected together at the back end by a cross channel 4.

Small holes 5 are bored through the face of the iron communicating with these channels and forming steam outlets.

. An electric element 6 is located upon the u' per face of the base 1 and over this is p aced an insulating plate 7. A second electric element 8 is placed on top of the plate 7. A hollow casting 9 restsv upon the upper electric element being suitably insulated therefrom and forms a holding plate to retain the electric elements tightly in contact. The upper element is referably made of arranged a pair of chana greater heating capacity than the lower electric element and a pair of contact posts 10 are secured to and insulated from the member 9 and electrically connected with the upper element 6. y

. pair of contact posts 11 are secured to the 'plate 7 and electrically connected with the element 8. The upper ends of these posts are slotted and the slots of one set of posts are arranged in alinement with the other set of posts.

A casing 12 secured to the base of the iron incloses the hollow member 9 and the electric elements and upon the rear end of this casing are mounted a pair of rigid contact pins 13. These are insulated from the easing and upon the inner ends thereof are mountedthe swinging switch arms 14 which are adapted to engage the slotted contact posts lOor 11 according to the position in which they are swung. The switch arms are connected together by an insulating cross bar 15 and to this cross bar is connected a link 16.

The handle 17 of the iron is secured to the handle frame 18 which is rigidly connected to the casing 12'and the rear lug 19 of the frame is slotted longitudinally and at the upper end is provided with a pair oftalu 20 between which is pivotally mounted a lever 21.

The lower end 22 of the lever extends downwardly through a slot 23 in the casing 12 and is pivotally connected to the link 16. The forward end of the lever 21 forms the under part of the handle. A coil spring 24 arranged in the forward part of the upper so l the recess 2 and'channels 3 therewith and the face of the iron is heated by the steam portion of the handle forces the lever 'downwardly so as to swing the switch arms 14: into contact with the posts 11 of the lower element and when the lever is swung upwardly a ainst the pressure of the spring 24, the switcli arms 14 are swung clear of the contact posts 11 and move into engagement with the contact posts 10, thereby directing the current through the high heat element. If desired the switch may retain contact with with the low heat when the high heat is on.

A latch member 25 is pivotally secured in the forward end of the lever 21 and is adapted to lock the lever in the raised position. The recess 2 and channels 3 are connected with the chamber formed in thehollow casting 9 by means of a tube 26 and is adapted to convey steam from the hollow casting to said chamber and channels.

A water pipe 27 is connected to avalve chamber 28 which is secured in the member 9 having a small tube 29 extending inwardly practically to the center of the chamber within the member 9. i

A valve 30 closes the water passage and is provided with a coarse threaded portion 31 and upon rotation in one direction lifts the valve from its seat.

A lever 32 is connected wlth the upper end of the spindle of the valve and to the end of this lever is connected a link 33 extending across the top of the iron having its other end connected to one end of the lever 34, the latter lever being arranged parallel to the handle 17 so that the operator may readily swing it upon its pivot to open or close the water supply to the steam generating chamber.

In the operation of this device, when the iron is not in active use but is connected up with the electric wires the rotatable switch arms 14 are, by reason of the connections herein described efi'ected by the action of the spring 24 in the handle, held in contact with the posts 11 thereby connecting the low heat element. This maintains the temperature of the iron at a moderate heat.

When the iron is taken up for active use the act of gripping the handle swings the lever 21 on 1ts pivot and changes the position of the switch arms 14 to connect with the contact posts 10, thereby connecting up the high heat element. This element is arranged immediately beneath the hollow casting 9 into which the water is introduced through the small tube 29 when the valve 30 is opened and steam is created within the chamber at a high temperature. The steam finds its way through the tubes connecting temperature. This steam heating of the face oi; the iron reducesthe tendency of burning the direct application of steam to the face of the iron, while it is not new, is applied in conjunction with the other features.

It is important to notethat the heat of the electric elements is absorbed by the steam chambers which conduct the heat to the desired portion of the iron, thus avoiding too hi h a temperature on the face of the iron w ich will prevent burning. The electric switch may be held closed in the high heat position by operating the latch member 25 and when the iron is set aside temporarily the latch may be released to release the switch.

An iron constructed as described is extremely simple and very effective in use.

What I claim as my invention is 1. A pressing iron comprising, a base having steam passages leading to the face, a two element electric heater secured to said base, a hollow casing secured against said heater, means for conducting steam' from said hollow casing to said steam passages, and means for directing electric current to either element of said heater.

2. A pressing iron comprising, a base having steam passages leading to the face, an electric heater element arranged on top of said base, an insulating plate covering said element, an electric heater element arranged on top ofsaid insulating plate and having a greater resistance than the lower one, a hollow casing arranged above the upper element and clamped thereagainst, means for directing an electric current to the lower element to maintain a low heat, means for shifting the electric current connection to the upper element to obtain a high heat, means for feedin water to the hollow casing, and means or conducting steam from said casing to the steam passages.

3. A pressing iron comprising, a base having steam passages leading to the face, a twoelement electric heater secured to said base, a hollow casing secured against said heater, meansfor conducting steam from said hollow casing to said steam passages, a switch adapted to connect either element of said heater with the electric current, a lever su ported from the iron handle, operativey connected with said switch, and spring means for holding said switch in contact with one portion of said heater element.

4. A pressing iron comprising, a base having steam passages leadmg to the face, a two-element electric heater secured to said base, a hollow casing secured against said heater, means for conducting steam from said hollow casing to said steam passages, electric contacts arranged on each of the elements of said heater, pivotal switch arms adapted to cooperate with said contacts, a handle on said iron, and a lever connected with said pivotal switches and supported from said handle.

5, A pressing iron comprising, a base having steam passages leading to the face, a two-element electric heater secured to said base, a hollow ,casing secured against said heater, means for conducting steam from said hollow casing to said steam passages, electric contacts arranged on each of the elements of said heater, pivotal switch arms adapted to cooperate with said contacts, a handle on said iron, a lever arranged beneath said handle and pivoted at one end thereof and having a. downward extension, a link connected with the downward extension of said lever and with said pivotal switch arms, and a spring arranged on said handle adapted to engage the lever and hold the switch arms 1n engagement with one of the "elements of said heater.

6. A pressing iron comprising, a base having steam passa es leadlng to the face, an electricheating e ement secured to the upper side of said base, a plate covering said element, a second heating element arranged on saidplate, a hollow casing secured on top of said second element, contact posts secured to ,said plate and electrically connected with the lower heating element, contact posts secured to said casing and electrically connected with the upper heating element, a cover secured to said base and extending over said casing, a pair of contact posts secured to said cover, pivotal switch arms secured to said cover posts and adapted to engage the posts of either of said heating elements, a'

' link connected to said switch arms, a handle secured to said cover, a crank lever connected to said link and pivotally supported from said handle, and a spring arranged in said handle and engaging said lever.

SAMUEL e; BUsKARn. 

